Star Oil Limited has suspended its membership of the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) with immediate effect, a move that has sent ripples through Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector and raised questions about internal cohesion within the industry body.
The decision, announced in a statement issued on Wednesday Janaury 21, marks a significant escalation in tensions between the oil marketing giant and the Chamber, of which it has long been a prominent and influential member.
According to Star Oil, the suspension described as indefinite was not taken lightly. The company noted that it has historically been a committed participant in COMAC’s activities and remains the largest financial contributor to the Chamber, supporting its operations and advocacy efforts over the years.
Star Oil explained that its continued membership was anchored on the belief that COMAC exists to fairly represent the collective interests of its members, while providing room for divergent but well-intentioned views on policy and regulatory matters. However, the company said recent developments have forced a reassessment of that belief.
At the centre of the dispute is COMAC’s public posture on the petroleum price floor, a long-standing regulatory issue that has generated debate within the industry. Star Oil disclosed that it has consistently advocated for the scrapping of the price floor, a position that sharply contrasts with the majority view within the Chamber.
The company expressed concern that, despite its significant contributions, its position on the matter has not been adequately acknowledged or fairly communicated by COMAC, particularly during recent media engagements by the Chamber’s Chief Executive.
Star Oil said the failure to clearly explain the rationale behind its position has led to damaging public perceptions, suggesting that its advocacy is driven by anti-competitive intentions or illicit motives. The company described such implications as troubling, unfair, and harmful to its reputation.
While acknowledging that most COMAC members support retaining the price floor, Star Oil questioned why the Chamber appeared unwilling to reasonably articulate the basis of a dissenting view, even when it does not align with the majority position.
For clarity, Star Oil reiterated that its opposition to the price floor is grounded in economic and market principles. The company argues that the policy distorts market signals by preventing the timely transmission of international product prices and foreign exchange movements into local pricing at the oil marketing company level.
According to Star Oil, this distortion weakens competition and ultimately disadvantages consumers an argument it noted mirrors the same reasoning previously advanced by Bulk Distribution Companies in their successful push to have their own price floor removed.
“In light of the above. Star Oil believes that its continued membership of COMAC under the current circumstances exposes the company to reputational risk without offering a fair platform for its views to he represented by the Chamber.
“We therefore consider it prudent to suspend our membership until such a time that the Chamber demonstrates a clear commitment to balanced representation and fair communication of divergent member positions,” the statement reads.
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